This is especially painful for Starmer because Doyle, like Mandelson, has since been embroiled in scandal due to his previous relationship with a man who slept with children. (Mandelson resigned because of the depth of his friendship with the late convicted Jeffrey Epstein in September, while Doyle campaigned in 2017 for a friend who had been charged with child sex offenses, and later convicted.)
It was in March 2025, when Robbins was putting a large number of public workers out of work in the restructuring. He told MPs he was “under strict orders” from the private office of Number 10 not to discuss the issue with the then Foreign Secretary David Lammy. “I felt very bad about it and I kept giving advice that I thought this would be very difficult for the office, and it was difficult for me to defend myself,” he added.
“I don’t know what the nature of the proposal was, and I don’t know who exactly was behind it or how bad it was,” he continued.
Doyle said after Robbins’ testimony that he was unaware of any such discussion. “I have never sought a Head of Consul, Ambassador or any similar leadership position,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “I was never aware of anyone talking to the FCDO about such a role for me. My ambition after leaving No10 was to stay in British politics.”
Robbins aimed several other exchanges at the Prime Minister, albeit in diplomatic language. He tried to correct Starmer’s insistence that Mandelson had “failed” to review, saying that was not the case. “I’m sorry, chairman, but others (have said it),” Robbins said bluntly.
He appeared to insinuate that someone at No 10 leaked the review column to the newspaper. “The first time I heard about this deep concern and his brief explanation to the prime minister was just a few hours before it appeared in The Guardian,” he said, with pursed lips.
